Our People

Priya M. Shimpi Driscoll

Interim Associate Dean of Research and Partnerships
Professor of Education
Holland Chair in Early Childhood Education

About

Priya Mariana Shimpi Driscoll is associate dean and a professor of education at Mills College at Northeastern University, where she directs the Early Childhood Education master’s and bachelor’s programs. She received her PhD in Developmental Psychology from the University of Chicago in 2006 and joined Mills College in 2009. Her research program examines the role of cultural and environmental experiences in young children’s social and linguistic development. Her work also examines issues such as cultural language loss and bilingual education planning in families. Finally, Shimpi Driscoll is interested in how children learn through interactive play in museum spaces and other informal learning environments, including technology-focused contexts. She currently advises educational technology companies on curriculum development and child-robot interaction. A robot tutor she helped to create was named as one of Time magazine’s 100 Best Inventions.